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Sects/Religious Orders
The Church of Humanity Repentant is made up of a number of sects and religious orders which all hold to the three tenants of the faith, while carrying out their beliefs in varied forms. Please add any info about your sect here. Post-Exodus Reformists This makes up the brunt of the Church of Humanity Repentant. The Post-Exodus Reformists were fostered by the original faithful who settled on Cabina. They were varied in beliefs, doctrines, and stations, and in the spirit of the kindness showed to them by the inhabitants of the planet, they decided that the variety was beautiful, and a thing to be treasured. Post-Exodus Reformists are known for their high spirits, and are mostly well-mannered. They follow the idea that a variety of thought makes for a beautiful discussion. They treasure coexistence above all else, and revel in good-spirited discourse between different ideologies. The Tapeinosi The Tapeinosi are a small extremist order of siblings who take the Repentant mission of the Church to the extreme. Separated by their practice of self mortification (in the forms of strict vows of poverty, fasting, and self-inflicted pain), these siblings offer themselves and their bodies as atonement for the sins of humanity. Marked by scars and simple burlap clothes, these siblings stand apart and are often driven to such extreme forms of repentance by their own guilt. Most of these siblings come from backgrounds of violence or other sins. Prominent member Brother Morphos abandoned his house namesake (Aquila) after serving as a captain leading strikes against the alien species of the sector. He now serves the CHR by preaching on planets and worlds that are in desperate need of repentance. Many Siblings of the Tapeinosi serve as Demagogues or Zealots for the CHR, both preaching and sacrificing themselves in order to bring repentance to the sector. After a day of preaching it is common for these siblings to mortify themselves for the sins of those they preached to. A darker side of the Tapeinosi, only known to those who have been a part for many years, is that they may extend their own mortifications to those they deem most in need of repentance. After years of enduring their own suffering and pain, these siblings have become experts on inflicting pain on others while still maintaining the dignity of their consciousness and life. Sometimes used as a sort of inquisition, these siblings excel at getting confessions from sinners all across the sector. Notable members * Brother Morphos * Sibling Crux Konrad Welf Foundation for the Enhancement of Conscious Knowledge (FECK) A group of academics running non-profit schools throughout the sector. Dedicated to educating the underprivileged and academic research of social issues. The Order of the Quill The Order of the Quill is a subsection of the Church of Humanity, Repentant in the tradition of Moral Duality. They believe in a good god, “The Divine”, responsible for the creation of heaven, and an evil god, referred to simply as “Evil”, who they posit as the creator of our material reality. In addition to the three Core Tenets, the Order of the Quill has four Teachings which inform the philosophy and world view of its followers. These Teachings were found in the anonymously published Book of Quill, which is the namesake of the Order. Devout followers of the order sometimes forsake their family name to adopt the style “of the Quill”. The most prominent way in which the Order diverges from the central theology of the Church of Humanity, Repentant, is their belief in reincarnation. This belief is often used as a reinforcement of the Core Tenets, informing, explaining, and supporting them. The Teachings The list of Teachings, originally found in the Book of Quill, is as follows: 1. The Divine is synonymous with perfection. They exist in Blissful Heaven, a pure and perfect realm. The corruption of the material world is undeniable, and therefore it follows that the Divine cannot have created it or even care for it. The material world, therefore, must have been created by an equally corrupt entity, namely Evil. 2. All Souls stem from Blissful Heaven and are therefore sacred. Evil, out of spite or jealously, created the material universe to ensnare our Souls and keep them away from their rightful place, in the realm of the Divine. 3. As long as we hold on to the Temptations of the material world, our Souls cannot return to Blissful Heaven, and are trapped. Upon the body’s death, these Souls cannot ascend, but find a new host, be it beast, human, or alien. 4. Only by denying the snares of Evil can our Souls be freed. Self-denial, therefore, is the purest form of Repentance. The belief in reincarnation is often cited as an argument in support of the Church’s Second Tenet, namely that all conscious life is equally worthy and deserving of respect. If one believes that all Souls are sacred, this becomes self-evident. Consider: if a Soul can inhabit the body of a human male in one life, an androgynous alien in the next, then a female seagull, and generations later a female synthetic human, all Souls truly become equal. Why propagate slavery if you know that in a next life, you or your loved ones may suffer that fate? Why be cruel to others, why spread hate? All Souls are Sibling in suffering, and it is the responsibility of us all to ease that suffering where we can. Additionally, the idea of reincarnation negates one of the most often-heard critiques of the Church of Humanity, Repentant. “Why must I repent for the sins of those who came before?” A follower of the Order of the Quill might answer: “That is simple, for those who came before have come again, and we are them.” As the Order holds that only the Soul is sacred, and that the Divine does not care about the goings-on of the material world, rituals such as oath-taking, marriage, and contracts have little value to the Order’s followers: the words used to seal these rituals are inherently corrupt, after all. This aspect is often cited by detractors as a flaw in the Teachings, because it would make all followers of the Order untrustworthy. However, it must be noted that, in cultures where monogamy is the norm, followers of the Order are just as likely as anyone else to live together as if they were married, often for the full duration of their lives. The difference is, is that this is done purely out of love, rather than because the individuals in question are bound to do so. Similarly, if a follower of the Order tells a friend they will do a certain thing, they will still try their best to follow Word with Deed: but out of friendship, not out of fear for divine wrath. Hierarchy The Order of the Quill has a relatively flat hierarchy, having only one true rank. By far, most practitioners think of themselves only as “followers”. They do what they can do follow the teachings, shunning overt extravagancy and greed in all its forms. To most followers, however, the occasional slip (a few drinks too many, a moment of weakness of the flesh, a lustful night, or an act fuelled by covetous desire, etc) is condoned. Evil’s powers are delicate in its deviousness, and to be tricked is the fate of many. There is no punishment for these misgivings (other than to suffer reincarnation). Those who falter are expected to repent, and it commonly believed that it takes a few lifetimes of determined self-denial before the level of the Perfect can be achieved. The Perfect is the title given to members of the priesthood of the order. They live lives of constant self-denial. Perfects are expected to live humble and helpful lives, either in a community or as travellers, so that they may teach others their ways before they, on their death, ascend to Blissful Heaven. The title “Perfect” refers to an expectation, not a reality. Even priests know moments of weakness, but with repentance, they may retain their status and title, and live out their lives as teachers and mentors, to spread the message of the Order and the Church they serve. Notable members Perfect Gautier of the Quill The Stewards of Knowledge The Stewards are an association of historians and alien researchers, who consider it their holy mission to preserve lost or hidden knowledge, and to communicate it to the sector as a whole. They are based out of the Fakri Maajid Memorial Library on Cabina, which houses the majority of their findings. They believe that the soul is simply another term for the conscious mind, and so believe that learning enhances the soul. They consider humanity's hatred of the alien to be a spiritual deficit stemming from lack of accurate knowledge about them, and so seek to educate humanity. The Stewards largely engage in research into alien species, the study of their ruins, and the acquisition of obscure or censored texts. They operate schools dedicated to disseminating what information they discover, as well as black-market printing operations which publicize information the Empire or the High Church would disapprove of. Their membership contains many academics and students, as well as field researchers, hackers, smugglers, and thieves. Members of Houses Vela, Triangulum, and Pyxis are commonly drawn to this sect, and many continue their positions with these houses in order to funnel knowledge to the Church. Hierarchy Seeker: an initiate member, responsible for field research and acquisition of knowledge. Sophist: a teacher, responsible for spiritual, moral, and factual education. Steward: an experienced member, responsible for composition and distribution of writings, as well and the Library's maintenance. Notable Members: Seeker Dr. Vela Davarre Arash.Category:Teachings and Practices